My First Business Flop at 18
Let me ask you a question I think about often…
Why are we so afraid to fail?
If someone admits they've failed, it's always followed by embarrassment, shame, sometimes pride/ego, and dishonesty even.
We're fucking terrified of failing. We're taught failing is for losers. Failing is for the weak.
Don't get me wrong… I love winning.
I'll be the first one to admit I have Reese Bobby's wise words engrained in my brain to this day:
But if we think about it, we have all failed and we will all fail at some point or another.
Failure is universal. You can't escape it.
So the quicker you can understand how to make your failures work for you, the quicker you'll get to your end goal.
Let me just share one of my fancy little flops as an example (let's use that word instead of failures because a flop can be flipped 😉)
When I was about 17-18, I had an obsession with all things “vintage.”
Like, I was really out here scouring Goodwill like my life depended on it.
Vintage Levis, vintage cups, give me the old magazines, and the crystal ashtrays. I wanted the dusty Johnny Cash records and every old piece of clothing I could find circa 1970s. 👗
Let's just say, lil' old Tay wanted to be a successful and thriving vintage shop owner, and BY GOLLY she was going to get there 🤠
I did the research; how to start an Etsy shop? How to get a DBA? Where to source vintage clothes wholesale? How to wash vintage clothes? How to do clothing photography at home? How to price?
I took alllllll my research (now is when we can all chuckle together at my naive little self…) and I made a goddamn business plan for my shop Ruth Vintage.
(Don't ask me why that was the name… remember when I said I was in a religious cult? I wasn't kidding. The name was inspired by some biblical hoopla).
I presented my business plan to my friends, family, and peers and I FUNDRAISED TO START MY BUSINESS!!!!!
I'm typing in all caps because it still makes me cackle when I think about how dedicated I was to fundraising my business startup for $800 (I even broke down how I'd use the money and what my intentions were). 😂
But guess what? I hit my goal, and I went for it.
I got my DBA from my county. Created a website. Went to a sketchy-ass warehouse alone in Houston to sift through some dumpster-size barrels of vintage clothing which I purchased by the pound. I spent hours washing clothes, mending buttons, ironing, creating inventory, and photographing pieces for my site. I even researched old brands and the history of the pieces.
I launched that sucker and… I bet you can guess the end of this story 🥲
It was one big ole' belly flop.
I sold a few pieces, but I never even cut even. I eventually took the shop down, donated whatever I couldn't sell locally, and forever hung up my dream of vintage shop owner.
When I look back at this little business of mine, I see it as a flop. Absolutely. I raised money and didn't actually do anything successful with the idea.
But you know what I did get?
A whole lot of courage.
The courage to say, “Fuck it, I'm going to go after this.”
The courage to put time into something I found important to me.
The courage to share my ideas with others, unashamedly, and ask for support.
The courage to do the research and learn new skills.
The courage to dream BIG, even if it didn't get quite as far as I'd envisioned.
That's the beautiful thing about failing, sis. Each time you fail you can choose to let that failure eat you up and spit you out less than you were before, OR you can choose to take the L and realize the courage, experience, and knowledge you gained was worth it.
The flops are inevitable. It's what you do with that flop that matters.
Show yourself some love today.
YOU'VE EARNED IT.
As always,
Taylor